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What We’re Reading

By Insider Staff August 26, 2014 5:14 pmAugust 26, 2014 5:14 pm

Recommended reads from New York Times reporters and editors, highlighting great stories from around the web. What We’re Reading is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers that is sent twice a week as an email. Sign up »

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Credit Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal, via Associated Press

GQ

“I had a backpack and minimal stuff. I had no plans. I had no map. I didn’t know where I was going. I just walked away.” For nearly 30 years, Christopher Knight lived a solitary life deep in the woods in Central Maine. He became an accomplished thief, stealing from dozens of nearby homes over the years, living off the fat of modern life. This is the story of how he survived in the forest and what became of him when he stepped out of it. — Jeremy Zilar

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Credit Cliff Owen/Associated Press

The Washington Post

The Obama White House has been slowly refocusing the “war on drugs” to treatment and prevention instead of military assistance. So, instead of installing law enforcement officials or military generals to the position of America’s top drug-control officer, the administration has a recovering alcoholic, Michael Botticelli, heading the effort. This wonderful profile in The Washington Post looks at both the shifting tactics and Mr. Boticelli’s continuing recovery. — Nick Corasaniti

The Toast

What? You aren’t reading “Hey Ladies,” the hilariously brilliant send-up of youth, love, career and the big city? At their best, they are spit-out-your-coffee funny. The stories of this 20-something clique of longtime friends – told through a string of mass emails – is comedic writing par excellence. Read them all (not at work or you won’t get anything done). — Matt Apuzzo

Columbia Journalism Review

He publishes once a year. But John Siracusa – the hypercritical “canonical nerd” – has a following for his exhaustive, book-length reviews of new Apple operating systems for Ars Technica. C.J.R. interviews him at the 15-year mark. — Patrick LaForge